Natural Produce store in Nagoya
30.01.2009

A one-minute walk from exit 4 of Kakuozan station sits a new store. A glass window is decorated with forest imagery, and a white display dominates the view. You might think it is a café at first glance, but it’s actually a specialty store selling fresh farm produce from Minami-Shinshu (the southern Nagano area) called “Minami-Shinshu Farm Products Market”.

Minami-Shinshu refers to the southern part of Nagano prefecture, around Iida city area. It is about 120km north of Nagoya, or 1.5 hours by car. Surrounded by the Southern Alps, the landscape retains its rural aspect, with terraces of rice paddies in the valleys, forested hills, crystal clear streams, and small farming villages. There is little, if any industry in the region; agriculture dominates, tourism supplements.